AeroVironment Lands $12 Million Wasp AE Contract

On Wednesday, small-cap unmanned aerial vehicle specialist AeroVironment confirmed that on Sept. 21, it won a $12 million contract from the U.S. Marines to supply "Wasp AE" small UAVs, along with spare parts, training, and logistics support. The contract comes to AV by way of PAR Government Systems Corp., a subsidiary of IT provider PAR Technology , which ordered the UAVs from AV.

The successor to AV's successful Wasp III UAV, Wasp AE weighs in at just 2.8 pounds, and is "designed for ground and water landing, making it suitable for both land and maritime missions, and is capable of 20 percent greater flight duration than the Wasp III," according to AVAV.